Nanjing China

Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu Province, and it was the capital city of six dynasties in Chinese history. Nanjing means “Southern Capital.”, in Chinese, ‘Nan’ means ‘South’ and ‘Jing’ means ‘Capital’ in ancient Chinese language. Therefore, the capital city of China, Beijing means ‘Northern Capital’.

Nanjing is onthe Yangtze River near the western border of Jiangsu Province. It is about 300 kilometers (200 miles) from the sea and Shanghai. It only takes around an hour to travel from Nanjing to Shanghai by the fastest train. It is on the southern side of the Yangtze that protected the city from enemies in the north in the past. In the area of Nanjing, the Yangtze River flows from the southwest to the northeast. In the history, Nanjing was a prominent city, and its rulers benefited from the partial control of trade on the Yangtze River that allowed trade vessels to travel from Sichuan in the west of China to Shanghai and the Pacific Ocean.

During the Ming Empire, Nanjing was the largest city in China. Now it is a city of over 8 million people and about 30 thousand foreign residents. The remains of the empires of the past can be toured all over the city, and the nearby Purple Mountain (Zijinshan) area has many historical, cultural, and religious sites to visit. Nanjing is an important destination in a tour of China. The highlights include Purple Mountain, the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-Sen, Confucius Temple, Mingxiaoling Mausoleum, Qinhuai River, the Memorial Hall to the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre, Linggu Temple, the Presidential Palace and Mochou Lake.

One very good distinction of the city is that it is reported to have about the lowest crime rate in China. Another distinction is that it has the biggest inland port in China that can handle big ocean-going ships. What is called the biggest train station in Asia is being built in the southern part of the city at the Nanjing South Train Station, and one of the world’s fastest trains is being built to connect it with Beijing.